“Think about it, my friend,” Herb said.

“Wait, you actually serious about this?” Said Walter, words mixed with uncontrollable laughter. “There are so many reasons why this free-world theory of yours will never work. No such thing as mana from heaven. We all have to work. I can’t believe I’m telling you this, as grwon as you are.”

“Whatever. I think I don’t want to live in this world anymore,” Herb said.

“Where will you go? Wait a minute.”

“No, I’m not talking about suicide. On the contrary I feel more alive than ever I did.”

“Yeah,” Walter said. “Alive and crazy. Wait till tell Lita about this. Free-world, free everything. Wow,” he giggled to himself and went to the sink to rinse the bowl he was eating Wheet-Bix from.

That night Xavier and Copeland, the other boys from campus, came over to fetch Herb. They told him about this party in Sun Square; he’d be a fool to miss it. Herb became a fool. He told them he has some things to do.

“Come on! You not serious,” Xavier complained.

“I am,” Herb shut the door in their faces and carried on working. Walter arrived at 20:45 from a dinner date with Lita. He found Herb on his bed, facing a laptop with papers scattered around him. He looked so busy.

“Glad you got back to your senses,” Walter said. “What are we studying?” He picked up one of the papers and saw a picture of planet Earth with some scientific equations scribbled around it. Some Walter recognized as the formulas they were taught, the ones in text-books.

“What’s this?” He asked.

“Top secret. I can’t tell you,” Herb said. “I’m gonna have to kill you if I do. And I’m not a killer so…” he snatched that paper from Walter.

“Since when have we kept things from each other?” Walter said. “You’re my best friend.”

But Herb said nothing. He was busy on the laptop.

“Oh, I get it now. This is about the free-world theory nonsense of yours.”

“Yes,” Herb agreed. “Think out the box. See beyond the surface.”

“But sometimes you see impossible things. You see stupid things,” Walter said.

“This is not only a theory of a free, no money world. I’ve found something exciting to live for, beside the parties and the girls. My life’s work begins this very night,” Herb said.

“Life’s…no, man. What is all this?” Walter angrily picked up the papers as some fell back on the bed.

“Ever wondered how things are produced into many quantities and they all look the same? Like that sweater you wearing right now,” Herb said. “You know that sweater is not the only manufactured design, right? So many like it worn by a lot of people. Same material, same size, same colour.”

“I know that.”

“What if,” Herb grinned and took off his glasses. “What if fabric, paper, metal, steel or any other molecule or substance isn’t the only thing that can be…replicated, to it’s exact form? Humans are pieces of meat. Earth is just a rock.

What if this planet can be copied and put into a safe position in the milky-way? We’ll have two Earths, this evil one and the one which we’ll both own once I’m done with this.”